The NBA suspended Jerry Stackhouse and Kirk Snyder (Uta) for 1 game for their postgame fight following Saturday's Dallas-Utah game. Stackhouse missed the Memphis game due to the suspension. Memphis at Dallas (April 11) Once again Dallas was facing an opponent on their 2nd night of a back-to-back, though this time the opponent saw the return of some injured players instead of missing some. James Posey and Stromile Swift returned to action after missing a number of games (both came off the bench). Memphis was keyed up as a win would clinch a playoff berth for them. The game stayed tight in the 1st quarter with both teams holding small leads and neither able to put together a true run. A 3-pointer by Earl Watson gave Memphis their largest lead, and the largest lead of the quarter, at 8-4 with 7:15 remaining. The teams flip-flopped leads over the end of the quarter and Swift hit 2 free throws in the last few seconds of the quarter to give Memphis a 23-22 lead after 1. Josh Howard had 10 points. Memphis led 29-28 with 9:10 to go and Dallas went on a 17-3 run to go up 45-32 with 4:10 left as Dallas shot 7-8 FG and Memphis shot 1-9 FG during the run. Lorenzen Wright hit 2 free throws and drained a bucket as the quarter came to an end. Dallas led 51-44 at the half. Marquis Daniels had 10 points in the 2nd quarter. Dallas shot 12-19 FG and Memphis shot 8-19 FG in the 2nd quarter. A 3-pointer by Mike Miller pulled Memphis within 49-53 with 10:50 to go, but Dallas then scored the next 6 points to go up 59-49 with 9:05 left. Memphis answered with an 8-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Miller, to pull within 57-61 with 6:30 remaining. But Memphis could get no closer and Dallas' lead ranged between 4 and 10 points the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 79-71 after 3. Dallas opened the 4th quarter with a 7-2 run to go up 86-73 with 9:50 to go. Dallas led 94-81 with 6:15 remaining and put the game away with an 11-2 run, including a monster slam by Howard, to go up 105-83 with 3 minutes left. Dallas won 110-89. Dallas pulled away with a strong 4th quarter in out-scoring Memphis 31-18 in the 4th. It helped that Memphis never found their shooting touch and Dallas played good defense. For the game, Dallas shot 48.8% (40-82) FG including 5-14 3-pointers (all made in the 2nd half) and Memphis shot 41.5% (34-82) FG including 4-10 3-pointers. From the line, Dallas shot 25-29 FT and Memphis shot 17-24 FT. Neither team was very giving with the ball as Dallas had 18 assists and Memphis had 16 assists. Dallas out-rebounded Memphis 48-34 including 18-14 offensive. Dallas won all 4 games on their last regular season homestand (they have 1 home game left) and there are only 5 games left in the regular season for Dallas. After a poor outing the previous game, Josh Howard was solid throughout this game and had a couple of highlight plays including a miss of his (where it looked like he was just throwing it up instead of trying to make the bucket) that he followed with a slam and a thunder putback of an Erick Dampier miss late in the game. Howard was the high man with 23 points including 9-15 FG. He also had 9 rebounds including 4 offensive. Dirk Nowitzki had 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. 11 of Michael Finley's 17 points came in the 4th quarter. Jason Terry had 12 points and 6 assists, but 2 really pretty passes didn't go down as assists as Howard was fouled after receiving one and Dampier simply fumbled away the other. Dampier's focus was on rebounding in this game as he had 13 rebounds including 5 offensive. He also had 6 points on 2-7 FG and 2-4 FT and 2 blocks. Keith Van Horn had 14 points and 7 rebounds. Marquis Daniels returned to the living with 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists in 22 minutes. Devin Harris had 5 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists in 13 minutes. He had a real aggressive offensive rebound where he simply out-hustled 4 Grizzlie players as he snuck in and went after the ball and they stood and waited for the ball. Lorenzen Wright was the high man for Memphis with 18 points to go with his 7 rebounds. Pau Gasol struggled with 14 points including 5-15 FG. He also had 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Mike Miller had 13 points and 5 rebounds. Shane Battier had 11 points including 4-5 FG. Earl Watson had 5 points on 2-8 FG and 3 assists. Bonzi Wells and Stromile Swift had 8 points each off the bench. Quotes Avery Johnson: "This is a nice victory for us tonight against a team that is a well coached team and is going to be in the playoffs. Mike Fratello has done an awesome job with them. We pretty much played an all around solid game. We were disappointed the last game with our offense. Some of it had to do with Utah and some of it had to do with us not getting the right shots. Our offense came around and I thought our defense had another steady night. I'm proud of the way the guys battled in the 4th quarter." Johnson: "We made a conscious effort to get the ball inside. We only had 36 points in the paint tonight, they had 42. We are trying to make a conscious effort of trying to get the ball inside and not just shooting jumpshots." Johnson on Daniels: "He had 10 points and 4 assists. I thought he battled defensively. He was on Miller and during our pregame meeting I told him he didn't have a good defensive night against Miller the last time we played Memphis. I thought he competed tonight defensively." Dirk Nowitzki: "We don't have to score 30 points per quarter to win. Defense is the key to our success." Nowitzki on Howard: "To me, he's one of the greatest slashers in the league. He always finds a way to get in there and get his hands on the ball and get offensive rebounds. He really took advantage. They put Gasol on him and put the smaller guy on me. I think he really made that matchup pay for us and it was fun to watch." Nowitzki on going 4-0 on the homestand: "The homestand was good for us. That was really what we wanted, especially with the first playoff series starting at home. Obviously, if you want to win in the playoffs you have to win on the road and we've proven that all season long." Michael Finley: "We know that we want to do it with defense. Even when the game seems out of hand or we have a comfortable lead, we're still working on defense whether it's the guys that start the game or the guys that come off the bench. We just don't want to get into bad habits right now, especially close to the playoffs." Jason Terry: "This was another solid game for us, a good home performance for us. I thought we came out with the energy required to win the game and defensively we got better. We did what we wanted to do at home and now we're going to have to go on the road and play a tough Seattle team. We've got a lot of work ahead of us." Terry: "It's still a work in progress, but our goal is to get better defensively each night and I think we're doing that. Defense is what's going to win us a championship." Terry on the playoffs: "It's something that's always on my mind, especially this time of the season. We want to focused and finish out the season well." Terry on Howard: "He's big for us just because he's a guy that does the dirty work night in and night out. He always has energy and to see him get buckets and get up over 20 points is always a plus." Terry on Howard: "Josh is our energy guy. He's our guy who does all the dirty work, so when we see him get 20 points, we know we're on the winning end and we're happy for him. He doesn't usually get to touch the ball offensively a lot of the times but when he gets 20, we're excited for him." Josh Howard on improved defense: "I just think it's effort. We can all get out there and get in front of somebody, smack the ball, swat it away from them, and guys have to be ready to give that effort." Howard: "Mike Miller coming in was the hot guy and we knew that. We watched a lot of film on him and saw all the screens he ran off of. It's all about paying attention to the scouting report and getting ready to run." Howard on offensive rebounding: "It's just something that I've always been able to do, just work my way into that offensive rebounding section. I watch my teammates and how they shoot the ball and where the ball is going to come off at." Howard on if the team is getting the swagger back at home: "I hope so because we did it real big last year at home. These last couple games at home we've done a great job and it's kind of let us know that we can win at home. It's kind of weird to say that, but right now we can win at home and that's good coming into the playoffs." Howard on if the team is getting the swagger back at home: "I hope so. We were big at home. It's a little weird saying we can't win at home. Right now, we can." Howard on if missing Stackhouse affected the team's toughness: "If it would have, it would shown up tonight. Memphis is one of the most physical teams in the league, and we played them the same way we've been playing everybody." Marquis Daniels: "We have to continue to improve. We have to keep playing defense, get easy baskets, run, get loose balls, and finish games. Hopefully, it can carry over into the playoffs." Mike Fratello: "Dallas was really good tonight. They were just good at both ends of the floor; offensively they executed. Things that we call effort points like 2nd shots and fast breaks, some stats that we keep, they beat us 41-17 combined, which is a large margin. The 18 offensive rebounds we gave up were back breakers to us. They were sharper and quicker. They got to every loose ball. It was 15-2 in fast break points. They held us to 41%, so they did an excellent job. They deserve a lot of credit for taking us out of what we were trying to do." Fratello: "Dallas was very good on both ends. They had the effort points - 2nd shots, 18 offensive rebounds, they got to every loose ball. They deserve a lot of credit for taking us out of the things we do. A lot of their baskets came from balls they got to first." Fratello on Dallas 3-pointers: "They hit them in the 2nd half. A number of their baskets came as a result of balls they got to first, that we didn't get to. As a result, they got another shot at the basket." Fratello on Howard: "It's tough when a guy outhustles people. When a guy gets offensive rebounds and puts them back in, he's finding ways to score without them running plays for him necessarily, and then the couple of times they do run plays for them, he does what he's supposed to do with the ball." Fratello on if a tiff between him and Williams (in their last game) distracted the team: "No, not really, not really. At this point it's about winning. Guys are focused on getting one more win and clinching that playoff spot." Pau Gasol: "They controlled the boards for the whole game. That gave them a lot of 2nd opportunities, too many actually. They hit shots late in the game and made the difference even bigger." Gasol on shooting 5-15 FG: "I didn't know I missed that many shots. I let them strip the ball away from me too much. ... I was out of control." Shane Battier: "They are one of the best home court teams in the NBA and it seems like they show us every time why. They are a tough team. They are playing well, trying to jockey for playoff position. Every time we would try to get close, they would come up with a turnover or a fast break and hit big shots. Tip your cap to them; they have shot makers. To beat them at home, you really have to bring you're A game." Battier: "I think their size hurt us the most; we had no 2nd chance opportunities. Dampier and Dirk did a great job of controlling the boards. For a team coming in here, you have to offensive rebound and get easy baskets and get 2nd chance points. They kept us to one shot. When we missed, they were able to run and convert. That was the difference." Battier on the playoffs: "It's a tough road trip against some really good teams who are all playing for something. We've got our work cut out for ourselves. We finally have our full rotation back healthy. We can throw out some different combinations. If we can gel, we can get a couple and get some momentum going in." Lorenzen Wright on clinching a playoff berth: "We've got to win one of these as early as possible." Wright on clinching a playoff berth: "It's like going to school knowing you have a test to take, and the teacher gives you 5 chances to pass. You might as well pass as soon as you can and get it over with." Dallas Mavericks 110, Memphis Grizzlies 89 at Dallas (April 11) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 22 29 28 31 - 110 .515 .357 .488 .862 Memphis 23 21 27 18 - 89 .417 .400 .415 .708 Halftime: Dallas 51-44 3rd Q: Dallas 79-71 Technicals: none Refs: Tony Brothers, Leroy Richardson, Greg Willard Attendance: 20,044 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Jerry Stackhouse (suspended) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 36 7-16 3-6 0-0 17 2-2 2 0 2 1 0 Jason Terry 32 5-10 0-1 2-2 12 0-0 6 0 1 1 0 Josh Howard 32 9-15 1-1 4-4 23 4-9 0 2 4 2 0 Dirk Nowitzki 32 6-13 0-0 7-7 19 2-8 2 1 1 0 3 Erick Dampier 28 2-7 0-0 2-4 6 5-13 0 2 4 0 2 Keith Van_Horn 27 4-8 1-4 5-5 14 0-7 1 2 4 1 1 Marquis Daniels 22 4-7 0-1 2-2 10 1-3 4 0 1 2 0 Alan Henderson 15 1-2 0-0 2-4 4 3-4 0 3 2 0 3 Devin Harris 13 2-4 0-1 1-1 5 1-2 3 1 2 0 0 Darrell Armstrong 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 40-82 5-14 25-29 110 18-48 18 13 21 7 9 Memphis Grizzlies REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Mike Miller 33 5-9 2-3 1-2 13 2-5 4 3 1 0 1 Earl Watson 25 2-8 1-3 0-0 5 2-3 3 1 0 1 1 Pau Gasol 31 5-15 0-0 4-6 14 4-8 3 1 3 0 2 Shane Battier 29 4-5 1-1 2-2 11 2-3 0 1 4 1 1 Lorenzen Wright 31 7-12 0-0 4-6 18 0-7 2 1 3 0 0 Jason Williams 20 3-7 0-0 0-0 6 0-2 1 2 1 0 0 Bonzi Wells 19 4-9 0-0 0-0 8 2-3 0 0 3 0 1 James Posey 19 1-2 0-1 2-2 4 0-0 1 2 2 3 0 Brian Cardinal 15 1-7 0-2 0-0 2 2-2 1 0 1 1 0 Stromile Swift 12 2-7 0-0 4-6 8 0-0 1 1 4 1 0 Antonio Burks 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Dahntay Jones 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 1 0 0 0 Totals 48 34-82 4-10 17-24 89 14-34 16 14 22 7 6 patricia